PGT: One Time
by Psiro the Chronicler
Summary: The collection of short or long stories of my Pokemon Go: Trifecta! The leaders recall moments and tell a story based on their perspectives! This is just going to be a compilation of some events they've experienced in the past.
1. First Impression

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello! Based on a suggestion, I've decided to move all of the "One Time" shorts into a whole new story category so that I won't clutter up the main story.**

 **Chapters 1 to 6 are based on the profile pages of Candela, Blanche, and Spark. The rest are totally new!**

 **They will all start with the theme: "One Time..."**

 **Hope you will all enjoy!**

* * *

Candela

One time, on our first meeting, the three of us introduced ourselves to each other.

I was first up and I just smiled and confidently introduced who I was because if you're ever going to make a first impression, it's through introducing yourself and letting your presence be known to everyone! Spark immediately shook my hand after I was done and said that his name was Mr. Kraps.

I didn't believe it at first, but then he laughed and said that his real name was Spark. I laughed so hard after I got that joke!

Blanche was last and boy was she serious! Like, you ever got a sudden chill down your spine by being around someone who you pretty much know looks like he or she's the best? Like, if the Champion of the region, let's say Cynthia, stood in front of you. Wouldn't you be intimidated?

"So this is what being Intimidated by a Gyarados feels like" I said to myself.

Blanche stood there, looking very stern and astute with one hand at her chest and the other behind her, and she began by saying "Greetings and salutations, future colleagues! My name is Blanche and I am one of the leaders chosen by the highly acclaimed professor Willow, who has recently been in charge of this exceptional establishment. I would hope that we would get to know each other's idiosyncratic personalities and-"

From the moment she said 'idio-whatever', I knew that I was dealing with a walking thesaurus. A variety of words that had at least six syllables each, left Blanche's mouth, entered our ears, and left before our brains could even process their meaning. Spark and I looked at each other at one point and I knew that neither of us understood what she was saying.

A lot of time has passed and it felt like ages! Pretty much the only words I understood at one point were, "I", "the", "if", "and", and "to."

"Do any of you have any inquiries?" Blanche asked when she FINALLY finished.

I raised my hand and Blanche looked like she hoped that nobody would have any questions for her, but she eventually allowed me to speak. I asked if she could say everything again from the beginning with, you know, simpler words.

To our surprise, her face grew bright red and she was still as a Sudowoodo! Spark then raised his hand, but before Blanche called him out, he asked what were those papers that she had behind her back.

To perfectly paint a better picture, you ever seen a tomato? That's what Blanche's face looked like. She slowly brought out her hand from behind her back, and it was revealed that behind her were some papers with the title "Introductory Speech - Final Draft."

SHE MEMORISED A SPEECH FOR US! THAT WAS SOOOOO CUTE! Spark and I hugged her to save her from embarrassment, and she kinda cried a bit.

When we let her go, she started over again saying, 'H-hi, m-my name is Blanche... Thanks.' She didn't need to say much after that since from that point on, the three of us became close friends.

* * *

 **This is just one of many! Hopefully you will like 'em all. As always, feedback will always be appreciated. Thanks a lot!**


	2. Dig

Blanche

One time, I was reading the news regarding the Diglett migration patterns and Candela came home from her jog with a bruise on her head.

Spark and I weren't surprised since she's usually so dedicated to her workout that accidents do frequently happen. I got the first-aid and Spark prepared an ice pack. She rested on the couch and I applied some ointment to her forehead. Upon closer inspection, the bruise was indeed rather large; it was about the size of a fist.

"Did you get in a fight?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, yeah! That's what happened!" Candela said with a smile.

"Who? Someone we know" Spark asked with a mischievous grin.

Candela then told us that when she went jogging, she saw a wild Hitmonchan fighting civilians. She then said that she rushed in to defend them, and as she told people to run for cover, their eyes locked.

The Hitmonchan did, and I quote, "a flurry of Mach Punches" straight towards her, and with, I quote once more, "the skills of a MaCHAMP", she dodged most of them except for one. It hit her right in the forehead and she collapsed. As the Hitmonchan stood in victory, she slowly got up, wiped some blood of her lips and taunted the wild Pokemon shouting, "that punch was nothing!"

Enraged, the Hitmonchan threw a Fire Punch at her, but she prepared herself and the moment the Pokemon threw his punch, she dodged it, grabbed his arm, and used the forward momentum to throw him to the lake.

"Wow, that was an awesome tale Candela! You're a hero!: Spark said as he placed the ice pack on her head.

"Fly like a Butterfree and sting like a Beedrill," she insisted, "I can see the headlines now! Candela! Hero of the Town! Totally worth the five minutes of fighting."

I grinned, and I got the remote to the TV and switched it to the news.

"Candela," I said, "did you know that a Hitmonchan needs three minutes after every fight to rest?" I then saw the smile on her face begin to fade away.

The news came on and the reporter said, "This is Channel 7 News. Following our documentary regarding the Diglett Migration, authorities are now setting up signs around town to warn people that Diglett can suddenly pop out of nowhere. Here is a footage of a jogger who inspired the local authorities on this idea."

The image then changed into a video of a person about Candela's height who was jogging... until a group of Digletts suddenly popped up and caused her to trip and resulted in her bumping headfirst into another Diglett. The clip of her falling on her face then looped over and over again. Spark and I turned to face Candela and she looked like she was about to die out of embarrassment.

Candela then got up, and ran straight to her room yelling, "I'M NEVER LEAVING MY ROOM!"

That was probably one of the most memorable events I can think of the three of us shared.


	3. Struggle

Spark

One time, Candela injured her leg and was unable to do much by herself since her leg hurt, and she kind of limped around.

She's not exactly the type of girl who would prefer to sit still you know? She was really bummed out and Blanche and I tried to find out what was bothering her. We asked her, but she refused to cooperate and hid underneath her sheets. We decided to do what we can to cheer her up.

So I thought that since she was stuck in her room, we might as well cook something for her and eat with her 'cause nobody wants to eat alone.

So me and Blanche- waitaminute sorry, Blanche and I (yeah, I learned a thing or two from her), cooked a HUGE steak with roasted garlic potatoes and bought a tub of ice cream for dessert. We brought the food upstairs and we kind of barged into Candela's room while she was watching TV.

The both of us set up a tray and placed it on Candela's lap while we both grabbed a chair and ate. You should have seen Candela's face man! She was ecstatic! I mean, I would too if I saw that juicy steak!

The three of us chowed down and after a while, Candela started to cry a bit and Blanche and I wondered what happened.

"You guys are the best," she said as she ate another bite.

I winked an Blanche and signalled that we did a good job.

When it was dessert time, we just gave the tub to Candela. We told her to eat responsibly, and Candela started crying again.

"I HATE YOU TWO!" she yelled at us.

Sheesh, she suddenly got really mean. I mean, you'd think that she would at least be grateful for us.

She then got a spoon and chomped on a big scoop of ice cream and said, "I'm going to get fat thanks to you two, and I can't burn it all with this stupid leg!"

The two of us "hated" individuals laughed. We asked if she would rather eat some healthier food like a salad but she declined and gave us a list of food that she would like to eat in the future until her leg got better.

When her leg did get better, I heard that she did a lot of push ups, sit ups and ran a lot for ten days to burn the "unimaginable amounts of fat" she's accumulated.

So Candela pretty much loves food, but is VERY concerned for her figure."


	4. Rain Dance

Candela

One time, it was raining outside, like really hard, as if a family of Politoeds were teaching their younglings how to use Rain Dance... or maybe even a Kyogre appeared.

When I got home, I noticed that I was the first one to arrive. I planned to call and check where Blanche and Spark were, but as if right on cue, Blanche came inside with carrying just as much rain on her clothes as I did.

Still, I tried to call Spark to tell him to get home immediately because of the weather. I called once, I got nothing. I called a second time, and still nothing.

I then asked Blanche to use her cell and try to contact our blonde friend. She quietly pulled out her phone and tried to reach Spark; there was no answer.

"Where did he say he was going today?" I asked Blanche.

"From what I recall, he simply said that he was just going out," Blanche replied.

The rain continued to pour and we thought that he was going home soon. We got changed and sat down on the couch facing the TV. The news said that everyone was advised to stay indoors. Footage of roads and highways filled with water were shown and rescue choppers were already being dispatched. Blanche and I grew very concerned.

One hour has passed and the rain didn't stop. I looked at Blanche and she knew what I was thinking as if the few days we've spent together have magically given us telepathy.

"I'll go get my Blastoise. I'll cover the flooded roads. You take the skies." She said.

We got suited up and left the house in search for Spark. Blanche was surfing through the water while my Pidgeot and I flew above to cover as much ground as we possibly can.

WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE! From cafés, to playgrounds, and even the library! (not that Spark was an avid reader, Blanche just thought that we might as well check if he was there since it was nearby).

"Any luck?" Blanche asked through my phone. She was able to help some civilians out of the torrential waters, but Spark was still nowhere to be found.

"Nothing here," I replied while I delivered a family safely to higher ground.

Eventually, it grew darker and we both went home. Reports were out that someone got a couple of Abras to use Sunny Day to prevent any further damage to the town, and that itself was a relief to our shoulders, but they still stayed heavy because we didn't find Spark.

To our surprise, Spark was home! Drenched in the rain, but he was home! Blanche and I cried out his name and immediately went to his side. I don't remember if tears were in our eyes or if it was the rain. When we asked where the hell he has been, we noticed that he was holding something in his jacket and it was moving!

"Saw these guys stranded with no owner under a tree," he said, "thought that our home was better than that tree."

Three Eevee heads popped out of his jacket and our hearts melted. And that's how we got out Eevees.


	5. Pain Split

Blanche

One time, I had the most disastrous day.

I woke up late for work. ME of all people. I skipped breakfast in hopes to reach the lab in time, but it wasn't enough. I spilled some tea on my research notes. I was so overwhelmed with work that I also completely forgot my promise to Candela regarding our jog in the park.

I looked at the clock and there was no possible way I could meet with her at the park in time. So I called her on her phone, but then I realised that is was completely drained of power! So I had to use the landline to contact her, and I heard her shouting through the phone "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Honestly, she had the right to be mad; I mean, I did forget. So I apologised, and went back to work.

For some reason, my office computer didn't start. It was then reported that there was an internal hardware problem and that the technician will be able to fix it in the next three days. Eventually, I was given the day off, which was fine with me since I had to recover and rewrite the research reports I've damaged.

Unfortunately, it suddenly rained when I got out of the lab. So when I got home that afternoon, I was tired, hungry, and drenched. I wanted to make something for lunch, but all that was left in the refrigerator and cupboard was a carton of milk and a box of cereal.

"Oh yeah, Spark's handling the groceries," I recalled.

So I ate my "lunch" and then proceeded to my room to work on my reports. I got changed into new clothes and sat down next to my computer and did my research.

Due to all the stress accumulated that day, I suddenly developed a massive headache. I knew that I could not work in those conditions so I decided to take a nap instead. Sadly, it took me a long period of time for me to fall asleep.

I wanted to sleep for thirty minutes, but I was woken up by Spark coming home shouting "ONE TRIP ONLYYYY!" and then I heard a loud thud on the floor, and possibly a few cracked eggs.

"NOOOO NOT THE EGGS!"

I couldn't be bothered to get out of my bed, especially not with my head hurting. I eventually attempted to go back to sleep.

When I woke up, time changed from the afternoon to evening, and I was so shocked with the amount of time I wasted! There was so much work to do, and now there's even less time to do them!

"YO BLANCHE," I heard Candela said as she knocked on my door, "time to eat."

I got up and went down to eat with my friends. I don't know how I looked, but it was pretty obvious to Spark and Candela that I was not having the best of days.

Candela asked if I wanted to talk about it but I refused. After the meal, I went back up to my room and stared at my stacks of paperwork that was surrounding my computer. I gave a big sigh of defeat, but I still had a job to do.

An hour into my work, I heard a knock on my door, and it was Spark. Spark asked me if I had any spare paper, and I was so swamped with work that I just tossed him a stack of used research drafts at him without a word.

Hours later, he came back with a box filled with folded paper stars he made himself saying, "Candela and I made these. Well, she folded the papers, but I wrote the messages. Open these whenever you feel stressed."

To my surprise, each individual star had my old notes at the back and a small motivational message from Spark saying things like, "You can do it!" with a smiley face.

I was suddenly filled with immense amounts of comfort and solace, and so I thanked him and told him to thank Candela as well. He then closed the door and I went back to work rejuvenated.

The stars were really a charming idea, however, some had no messages at all and I found a lot of spelling errors!

Hm? How did I know that? W-well... I-I uh, um... I've gone through half the box already during that week due to the amount of stress built up in my work...


	6. Hyper Voice

Spark

One time, I wanted to do something relaxing with the other two.

I mean, we've been busy handling memberships and gyms that we haven't been ourselves lately. Blanche ACTUALLY got to bed early. THAT'S how tired she was. Candela was even worse since she was practically running on caffeine. I swear that it took her a full thirty seconds for her to BLINK.

So one day, I decided to buy one of those karaoke things for our house!

I'm usually home first so I got everything set up by the time the girls they did arrive, Blanche was exhausted and carried a briefcase of files that she probably needed to read and was due tomorrow while Candela heated up some water and fell face first onto the couch while waiting for the water to boil.

Oh, and did I mention that this was a surprise?

I made sure that the lights were off and that the house was pretty much dark. When Blanche turned on the lights, I yelled out, "Ladies! Feast your eyes on the Hyper Voice Karaoke Machine!"

Ha ha ha! I got them good! Those two have never looked so surprised!

"Let us sing all night long and maybe we can Heart Swap our worries with cheer! Who's up for it?" I asked.

As expected, Blanche declined, but Candela got up and shouted "WOOOOOO AWW RIGHT!"

Blanche went up to her room, and I was pretty sad that she wasn't going to join us.

So after Candela drank her coffee, we decided to go get Blanche. We got to her room and we saw Blanche organising her files and stacks of paper and she had that face- that LOOK- that Candela and I knew very well that she did not want to be disturbed.

So yeah, we disturbed her.

She got so mad! You shoulda... should have... should... oh man who am I kidding? That was the WORST decision the two us ever made! You should NEVER, and I mean, NEVER EVER see Blanche mad.

After we got an entire sermon by our angry housemate regarding irresponsibility, the two of us confessed that we wanted to help her finish her work faster so that we can have fun with the karaoke machine.

Blanche sighed, and she turned her back on us in disappointment.

In defeat, Candela and I slowly walked out of her room, and the two of us felt like we shouldn't even use the machine that night.

That was until we heard Blanche mumble "en mints".

We didn't hear her correctly, but then she herself clarified by saying, "I'll be down in ten minutes." And just like that, the karaoke night lived on!

True enough, we found Blanche down in the couch with us in ten minutes and we dimmed the lights and started singing.

I. AM. A. HORRIBLE. Singer. But hey, I can do a sweet dab am I right? Candela was pretty good, but Blanche was an ANGEL! I tell you, if there's one thing you have to do before you die, it's hear her sing! Her voice can even soothe the most stubborn of Shelders to leave a Slowbro's tail and change back into a Slowpoke!

If... that's how evolution worked... I'll ask Blanche someday.

In summary, piss her off, you get the devil. Somehow, someway get her to sing, and you'll be listening to an angel!


	7. Morning Sun

Candela

One time, we said that we'd hatch eggs together to spend some quality time with one another and to hatch those little guys. So we decide to hatch some over the weekend and I planned the route that we were going to take. Hatching eggs was really a fun way of spending a nice sunny morning with friends!

Even before my alarm clock rang, I woke up and took a shower to prepare myself for the morning ahead of us! We were going to cover about five to ten kilometres, and there was no time at all to slack off! Naturally, when I finished, I was the first one downstairs and the first one at the dining table, which is usually why I cook breakfast for the three of us.

There's no better breakfast in the world than a stack of pancakes with syrup and a drink of your choice! Blanche prefers tea, Spark likes orange juice with no pulp, and I usually drink coffee. So I got out the pancake mix, chocolate chips, and strawberries and proceeded to make the pancakes.

A few minutes passed by and I finished about four stacks of pancakes each for the three of us and just from the smell of those babies make me want to chow down! Ahh, sometimes even I impress myself with my cooking skills.

I went upstairs to try and wake up the others. In our house, if you go up the stairs, my room's to the left, Spark's was to the right, and Blanche was in front of the stairs. I proceeded to wake Spark up since he's usually the last to get out of bed. I knocked a couple of times and I heard his voice saying, "I'm up! I'm up!" Normally, I'd be done with that and move on to Blanche, but this is Spark we're talking about. "IF YOU'RE UP THEN OPEN UP!" I yelled.

See, the last time this happened he just recorded himself saying those words on his phone and played it on repeat. When Blanche and I were finally ready, we found out that Spark was never really awake and we missed our appointment. Funny thing is, it was his dentist appointment. We just woke up early so that we'd make sure he'd wake up.

After a few loud knocks on the door, a groggy-looking Spark with his yellow PJs and nightcap opened the door and said, "happy now?" Behind him, I could hear a familiar "I'm up!" voice and it seemed to be coming from his bed.

"Still up to your old tricks again?" I asked.

"Can you blame me?" Spark said with a yawn.

"Well get showered and dressed, 'cause breakfast is ready!" I said as I patted him on the back.

I then proceeded towards Blanche's room and knocked on her door. "Blanche, come on! Wake up already!" I said.

"No," was the only response I heard. To be honest, both Blanche and Spark are pretty hard to wake up, but Blanche is the grumpiest.

"Come on Blanche, we agreed to this!" I responded back as I kept knocking on her door.

"I'm not leaving until I've had my fair share of sleep," she replied.

"What time did you sleep last night?" I asked.

"... That is none of your concern, now leave me be," Blanche said.

Yep, she was as stubborn as a Snorlax trying to wake up. Unfortunately for her, I've got the persistence of a Bagon trying to fly. "Breakfast's already ready Blanche! It's your favorite! Pancakes!"

"That's not my favorite and you know it," she replied, "now come back in like, two hours."

"Two hours? Why?" I complained.

"Because it's seven-thirty in the morning Candela! The Pidgeys haven't even left the nest yet!"

"Yeah, but do you have any idea how long it takes to wake you and Spark up? You're so cranky in the morning!"

"Good night Candela," Blanche said and started to ignore my voice.

I sighed, I didn't really want to do this, but it's times like these that I'm glad that we have keys to each other's rooms. "To be used for emergencies, and boy is this an emergency!" I said as I brought out a Pokeball. "Come on out, my mighty Key Master!"

I released Key Master the Klefki out of the Pokeball and said, "please open Blanche's door for me."

"Klefki!" the little keychain fairy proceeded to unlock the door and I went in.

Unbeknownst to many, Blanche's room is divided into two, one half is pure science geeky stuff, which is her work area, and the other half, including her bed, is filled with her collections of Pokedolls. I made my way to Blanche's bed making sure that I didn't step on any of her favorite plushies. As I crept towards her bed, I leaned in to wake her up, but that was when I was greeted with Blanche's Vaporeon. Her Vaporeon used Water Gun directly at my face and made me fall on my butt, which prevented me from waking her up.

"Predictable as always, Candela," Blanche said. To my surprise, she was actually fully dressed in a blue jogging outfit and ready to go. Heck, she didn't even look tired!

"We're you," I said as I got back up, "were you waiting for me to come in?"

"Yep," she said as she fixed her hair, "like a moth to a flame."

"But why?" I asked as I dried my face.

"Remember last week when you accidentally ate all the ice cream I was saving? This is payback," Blanche laughed, "so, pancakes?"

Blanche and I got down, and to our surprise, Spark was there, dressed in jogging attire, and munching on the pancakes I made.

"Howdy," Spark said with his mouth full. He then drank some juice to wash it down and said, "did it work Blanche?"

"Yes it did Spark," Blanche said as she high-fived Spark, and as much as it annoys me a bit, it was nice to see that those two are getting along. I initially thought that Blanche considered Spark as a goofball and avoided him during our early days, but now, she completely tolerates him.

"I said I was sorry about the ice cream Blanche! I got you a whole new one remember?" I apologised.

Blanche wagged her finger and said, "it's not enough that you said you were sorry. You should have been taught a lesson."

"Was pulling a prank on me the lesson?" I questioned.

"Yes," Blanche said as she ate her pancakes.

"Anyway, we'll leave the house with the egg incubators and jog from our house, to the lab, to the park, then to the lake and finish at RNB for brunch," I said as I took a sip of my coffee. "Spark, are the eggs prepared?"

"Yep!" Spark smiled as he pointed to the couch. Three egg incubators had a pink and yellow colored eggs in each of them. "I got them fresh from the daycare!"

"Good!" I said with a smile, "now finish eating and let's GO!"

Once we finished our pancakes, we put on our shoes, strapped our egg incubators behind our backs and then started our morning jog.

Now, I don't want to brag, but I had to slow my pace down for Blanche and Spark. Well, mostly for Blanche. She wasn't exactly the fittest person in Magalam.

We've only been jogging for an hour and she was already panting and breathing through her mouth. "Blanche, try to breath through your nose! It'll make you less tired!" I said.

"My body says to ignore you, Candela," Blanche said as she continued to jog.

"How about me Candela, am I jogging right?" Spark asked.

"Well, you're a lot better than Blanche, no offence," I said to Blanche.

"None. Taken," Blanche said as she gasped for air.

"You're jogging by landing on the rear side of your foot, which is natural for beginners," I told him, "if you want to improve, you have to land at around the center or even at the front of your foot."

"So you mean, like a ninja?" Spark asked.

"Well, not really, but I... guess so?" I wanted to say that it was much more than that, but by saying that it's similar to how ninjas run in TV was a whole lot easier.

"Yes! I knew that TV wasn't lying to me!" Spark grinned and proceeded to run full sprint like a ninja.

"There goes one goofball making a fool of himself," I joked.

"He's. Our. Goofball," Blanche agreed.

Blanche and I agreed and laughed together. We both knew that we'd both do anything to protect Spark.

We managed to catch up to Spark by the lake and Blanche immediately sat down because she was exhausted. Spark came to us and said, "I left you guys behind my ninja dust," he then did one of the ninja hand-signs to prove his point.

"Yes, yes, Spark," a tired Blanche said, "you are a true shinobi."

"Believe it!" he replied.

The view of the lake was so relaxing in the morning. You can see the bird pokemon fly across the sky, the water Pokemon looked so happy for their morning swim. Even just feeling the nice breeze feels great. We took off our egg incubators and checked how they were doing. We started hearing noises from inside, so it was pretty darn close to hatching.

"What do you think is going to hatch from this egg?" I asked.

"Candela, can't you tell?" Blanche asked as-a-matter-of-fact.

"There aren't a lot of pink and yellow Pokemon here," Spark said.

"Yeah, like, Smoochum. They're pink and yellow right?" I defended.

"True, but I have another hypothesis, Spark, care to confirm it for me?" Blanche asked Spark to get closer so that she could whisper in his ear.

"You're right Blanche! You're so smart that you probably know everything!" Spark said.

"Nah, I don't know everything," Blanche said as she blushed a bit, "I just know what I know."

"Awww, aren't you two so sweet together," I joked.

Spark and Blanche immediately turned to me with death stares, and I think my joke went a little too far.

"A-anyway guys, let's get a move on! These eggs won't hatch by themselves!" I said as I got up and placed the incubator on my back.

"But we just got here!" Blanche complained.

"Wohooo! Last one to RNB is a rotten Exeggcute!" Spark yelled. Spark offered a hand to help Blanche up to her feet and she said, "fine, I shall accept your challenge."

"Alright, RNB is about five hundred metres straight away," I said, "are we ready?"

"Yep! Give us the countdown coach!" Spark said as he readied himself for this race.

"Honestly, I can't believe we're doing something so childish," Blanche said, "but I do know that this will be fun."

"That's the spirit! Now, on your marks!"

All three of us went to a starting position.

"Get set!"

We each visualised the goal. RNB was straight ahead and fortunately nobody was around to disturb our race.

With one deep breath, I yelled, "GO!"

The three of us kicked off and made our way to the restaurant with our egg incubators on our backs. Despite the few kilograms strapped to our backs, we were doing pretty well. Spark immediately left Blanche and I as he sprinted to the finish. Blanche honestly tried her best to keep up with our blonde friend, but her body couldn't do it, and I knew this so I stayed with her.

"Don't push yourself, it's just a small race, so take it easy," I said as I ran next to her.

She looked at me back with determined eyes saying, "oh, I'm not tired, I'm just conserving my strength."

I already knew what she was thinking about. Normally, runners would only run at full power at the last few metres of a race, and I assumed that Blanche was doing this same tactic.

"So, when are you going to give it your all?" I asked.

"When we're about halfway there," Blanche replied, "that should be around when that slacker's out of breath."

Blanche and I continued at our pace and although Spark was way ahead of us, we observed that he was slowing down.

We were approaching the halfway point and Blanche took off as fast as her legs could carry her. Spark looked back just in time to see the blue runner catch up to him and in a desperate attempt, he pushed himself even further to run faster.

I on the other hand chose not to go all-out just yet. "A few more seconds and we'll reach the last one hundred metres." I thought to myself.

I saw my friends ahead of me, and as we got closer and closer to RNB, I sprinted with all my might! The gap between me and the other two got closer and closer and in a few seconds we were all neck and neck!

Fifty metres left and none of us were willing to back down!

Forty metres! Spark's legs were slowly giving out, but he still kept going!

Thirty metres! Blanche was already grunting and wheezing as if her lungs were going to explode!

Twenty metres! I looked at my friends' expressions and saw how determined they were at winning and it just made me so happy to see that we're all having so much fun!

Last ten metres. I slowed down my pace.

The winner of this race was Blanche. She managed to reach the restaurant first because Spark's legs were giving up due to all of the force they were exerting. Spark was so tired that he collapsed on the floor, and the two of them were exhausted and drenched in sweat. I wasn't that tired since I kinda do these kinds of things on a daily basis.

"Good job you two! Here, dry yourselves," I handed out some towels to my friends for them to wipe their sweat of their faces.

"HA!" Blanche shouted at Spark, "I'm. The. WINNER!"

"Weren't you. The one who. Said that. This race. Was childish?" Spark was speaking in small phrases as he was trying to regain his strength.

The two of them laughed and they looked at me and I asked, "what?"

"You. Lost. On purpose," Blanche wheezed, "Didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I winked. "But it looks like I'm the rotten Exeggcute."

"Hey guys, the eggs!" Spark said as he took off his egg incubator from his back.

True enough, the eggs were already shaking in their containers and we had to get them out to make room for the Pokemon to stretch. We each got out pink and yellow coloured eggs out and at the same time, a bright light glowed from each egg. Bit by bit, the shell of the egg formed cracks and in one bright, blinding flash of light, the eggs hatched into Skittys!

"Awww, look at these little cuties!" I said as I gave my Skitty a warm hug.

"Ah Skitty, welcome to your new family," Blanche said as she patted the Pokemon on the head.

"Hey, no, stop! That tickles!" Spark said loudly. It appeared that his Skitty was tickling him and causing him to laugh non-stop.

Soon, our Skittys hopped from our arms and used their tails to tickle Spark and the young blonde was laughing so loud that Alissa came out from the store asking, "what's going on?"

I explained to Alissa about our jog, the race, and the eggs, and she said that what we did was so sweet and adorable. "Come on in for your brunch! The Skittys can eat for free!" she said as she welcomed us in.

Suddenly, Blanche tapped me on the shoulder and I looked at her and she had this stern look on her face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Those Skittys weren't just tickling Spark," Blanche deduced, "they were actually using the move Tickle. And upon appraising them, they also know the move

I didn't really know what she was getting at so I said, "so?"

"Candela," Blanche said firmly, "given that Magalam has no resident Move Tutor and assuming that the mother is a purebred, Skittys can only learn Tickle and Zen Headbutt from one specific Pokemon. Just. One."

And that was when it hit me. I almost wanted to scream, but Blanche put her hand to cover my mouth and pressed her finger to her lips saying, "shhhh. Just act normally."

"Awww, would you look at those two," we heard Spark say to Alissa from afar as he carried three Skittys in his arms, "aren't they just the cutest couple?"

Almost instantly, we left our emotions aside and went straight to Spark and we each grabbed one side of his ear and pinched it real hard. RNB had one screaming customer, two very tired joggers, and three newly-born Skittys who may or may not be related to a Wailord.


	8. Boomburst

Spark

One time, it was recent actually, both Candela and I woke up early and were already eating breakfast when we heard a loud scream from upstairs. We pretty much knew that it was Blanche since both of us were looking at each other in wonder... or maybe it could've been a ghost. We saw Blanche hurry down in her PJ's and she was ecstatic I tell ya! She didn't even bother to fix her hair!

"GUYS GUYS! HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEWS?!" she said as she tried to brush her messy hair away from her face.

Both Candela and I knew what she was talking about since we've already read the newspaper, but we decided to keep it quiet so that Blanche can go on talking about it.

"I don't know," Candela lied, "do you know Spark?"

"I have no clue as to what you're talking about Candela," I lied as well, but can't help but smile.

"GUYS! PHEONOMENAL NEWS! THE ALOLA REGION HAS DIFFERENT FORMS OF KANTO POKEMON!" Blanche yelled.

I tell ya, her voice practically ECHOED through out neighbourhood. But Blanche was Blanche. She gets this riled up whenever something "sciency" is discovered. Pretty sure we have a video of her reacting to the introduction of the Alolan Pokémon somewhere in the house.

"SANDSHREW IS NOW AN ICE TYPE! AND SO IS VULPIX! AND NINETAILS!" Blanche continued screaming, but this time she was also jumping. "THIS ANSWERS SO MUCH QUESTIONS I HAD REGARDING THE MAGALAM REGION! IF MY THEORY IS CORRECT, THE POKEMON WORLD WAS ONCE A HUGE LANDMASS, AND THAT AFTER A LONG AMOUNT OF TIME, PARTS OF IT SEPARATED! AND THAT LANDMASS IS MAGALAM!"

Candela and I just relaxed and let Blanche continue, I mean, she was so happy that she was no longer her usual self.

"I'VE ALREADY BOOKED US A FLIGHT TO ALOLA!" Blanche shouted as she showed us her laptop with a flight confirmation for the three of us.

"H-hey calm down Blanche," Candela said. She looked at me, and I knew that she was concerned, but I reassured her with a wink that it was fine.

"NOVEMBER WE FLY!" Blanche was practically skipping across the house acting all carefree and happy.

"November? I've got plans on-" before Candela could even finish her sentence, Blanche suddenly appeared in front of her and she said, "November. We. Fly," in a threatening voice.

"Uhhhh, I mean, yeah! November! Who has plans? I don't that's for sure! Ha ha ha!" Candela said in agreement.

"I KNEW THAT YOU'D AGREE!" Blanche continued. She was humming and spinning as she got a bowl of cereal and a pitcher of milk. "A-LO-LA, A-LO-LA!" she hummed, "OH I CAN'T WAIT!"

I continued to read the newspaper and I saw a picture of the new Exeggutor and I showed it to everyone. "Hey guys, check it out! Our friendly tree just got a whole lot taller!"

Candela continued reading the information and said, "huh, he's now Grass-Dragon. That's new. On the downside, Ice Shard's a thing, but can he be an answer to Rotom's Wash Form? Perhaps when we visit, we'll find out."

As usual, Candela's already thinking of the Pokémon's capabilities for training. As for why I liked the article, I showed everyone the Exeggutor's photo and pointed at it saying, "see those faces? I'm gonna climb that Pokémon without any equipment just so that I can feed it food."

The others thought that I was crazy, but if you think about it, with it being so tall, feeding it would be a problem because it would have to bend ALL the way down for us to feed it. Well, I'm pretty sure it can photosynthesise since it's a plant and all, but hey, who doesn't like food?

"IT HAS A FOURTH HEAD! OHMYGOOOOOOOOSH!" Blanche yelled once more, "WHY DID IT LOSE IT'S PSYCHIC TYPE? DOES THIS MEAN THAT DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS CAUSE A CHANGE IN POKEMON?! WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A DRAGON TYPE?! SO. MUCH. QUESTIONS!"

Blanche was sooooooo hyped on the region that she acted like that the entire day even at the lab! Pretty sure the next day she lost her voice and had to ask us to communicate for her sake. Candela would take her new job seriously, but as for me, when I was told to introduce Blanche to the mayor, I was like, "Hoi! I'm Blanche! Nice to meowt you! I love kittens and rainbows! Can I be your fwend, nyaaaaa~"

I don't really remember what happened after I said that, but I remember passing out and waking up in bed.


	9. Final Gambit

**Remember everyone! Gambling's bad!**

* * *

Blanche

One time, we went to the casino to have some fun. A small disclaimer, gambling should be done responsibly. The three of us have agreed to a pact that we will not only do so, but also prevent the others from going overboard. So there we were one night, all dressed for the occasion. Candela and I finally took out those nice high heels that we bought some time long ago. I decided to wear something smart-casual so I took out a nice and simple blue maxi dress from my closet and wore a pendant with a jade stone around my neck. Candela took out her "little black dress" and wore a crystal necklace. As for Spark, he wore a regular black suit with a grey inner long-sleeve, and a red necktie.

Magalam's Armaldo Casino was branded with rare gems and gold with the slogan "Hidden Treasurers, Valuable Memories!" because the casino owner was originally a miner and after digging at a site for weeks, he finally struck gold. Aside from rare fossils, the founder made a fortune after he discovered a large jewel which was sitting next to a fossilised Armaldo. We went to the casino and got our chips; I won't say how much we changed, but I'd like to say that we're not part of the upper class.

The bright lights and electric jazz music made everyone relax and pumped up for a fun night. Spark immediately went to the slot machines because it was the only thing in the casino he actual won something on. I recall that he once screamed and yelled when he got a triple seven in the machine. He approached us saying that he won four hundred, but when we asked him how much he spent, he said that he used five hundred.

"But I won!" He told us with his big goofy smile, "and that's what counts!"

As for me, I'm usually found at the blackjack table. There's something about the game that interested me. Perhaps it was about the luck factor that was uniquely innate in the rules of the game. After all, how could anyone possibly win in a game that's based on probability? I mean, one just had to place big bets when you know that the odds are in your favour and avoid doing so if they're not. I would also like to add that I usually profit from my blackjack adventures.

I remember hearing people behind me whispering that I was cheating, but then I would turn to smile at them saying that I wasn't. How could I possibly cheat? Luck and Fate weren't in my control; I just acted based on probability.

"Hit me," I remember saying to the dealer. The dealer gave me a card and I got my first blackjack.

It wasn't going to be my last blackjack.

As time passed, I decided that I was done for the night. I took my winnings and left the table, and several people (along with the dealer) breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't see Candela or Spark, but after exchanging my chips, I got a call on my cell.

It was Candela, and she was asking for help. If I told you that I wasn't expecting this, I would be lying. Candela has... a very competitive nature. She can't resist the urge to make a comeback after a loss. I don't doubt that she's a great trainer, but is she a good gambler? Well... I'll just say that she has a bad poker face.

I found her at the poker table, and I saw her gesture me to her side. She appeared to be frustrated, and when I saw the table, it appeared that she went all-in on the first turn, and everyone else folded. I glanced over the size of the pot, and Candela had about a fraction of her starting chips left. She begged me to teach her how to be good at gambling, and I told her that I'd do my best as long as she remembers the pact.

She nodded, and I agreed. I went away to change some of my earnings, and then I returned to give them to Candela. I sat next to her (the dealer allowed it), and I instructed her on what to do. Candela knows the rules of the game, and despite all the tips and tricks I gave her, she can't keep her excitement or disappointment to herself.

When she had a pair of kings, she tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Everyone on the table saw her face and folded afterwards. I just sighed and asked if she could show me her poker face if she had two aces. She looked at me and stared directly into my eyes, and it was the saddest poker face I have ever seen.

Her face was an open book! You can tell straight away from the glint in her eyes that she had a great hand. When i told her that her facial expression was an extremely dead giveaway, she pouted and asked me if there was anything I could do to help her.

This wasn't exactly a problem that could be solved instantly because the nature of it was unusual. However, I did manage to come up with an ingenious idea. I told her than no matter what happens, she should recall all of Professor Willow's Poke-puns. The instant I told her to do so, her face changed. It didn't show joy or sadness, but it was a face of disgust. Her eyes squinted, her mouth closed, and her nostrils flared. She looked so mad that instead of staring, she shot daggers from her eyes. Her new poker face instilled fear into her opponents. Eventually, she started winning. Deal after deal after deal, she was knocking out the competition. Her winnings were doubling and people were leaving the table.

I was proud of her, and so I patted her shoulder and told her congratulations and that it's time to leave. Candela turned to face me, and I saw- I SAW, a look on her face. It was THAT look, which you can tell that she's long gone. She wanted to move up to the other tables for bigger winnings, and I tried to get a hold of her and tell her to stop. I remember telling her to remember the pact: we should gamble responsibly, and that we should stop each other from going overboard. She told me that if I let her keep going, she'd buy me new stuffed toys. I told her to keep it quiet and that I didn't care, but then she changed her offer. She said that if she won enough, she'd pay for a return trip back to Alola.

I'm usually not the type of person to be easily be bribed, but two weeks in a tropical island filled with wondrous scientific discoveries and mysteries waiting to be unfold? I'd be spending all my time looking for more evidence and proofs for my article! Not to mention that it would be a vacation. I knew that I was going to regret this, but I agreed to let her continue. However, once she's reached the amount to get three tickets to the Alola region, we'd leave.

She moved up to a different table, and it was the sort of table where richer and more experienced players would sit in. I got nervous because the blinds were a lot bigger now and these new players were very intimidating, but Candela would not desist.

A few turns finished and her winnings increased, but it hasn't reached the amount we agreed upon. Candela kept up her poker face and she even whispered some Poke-puns to herself just to stay focused. "Oh no Kabuto. Go get her, Peliper. Did you finish, Qwilfish?" She kept going on and on, and her face stayed focused.

It came to a point where there were three of them left who didn't fold yet. The river was a three of diamonds, seven of hearts, and a jack of diamonds. Candela raised and doubled the bets, which caused one of them to fold. I was standing right next to Candela and my heart was racing as I saw the cards on the table. The next card was a four of spades, both Candela and her final opponent reacted to this by betting even more money. The last and final card was a four of diamonds. Candela decided that it was all or nothing, and she went all in.

She was confident with her hand, and she pushed all of her chips to the center while still maintaining her pokerface. Her opponent looked at his cards and called Candela's bet with a smile. Candela revealed her hand and it was a king of diamonds and a six of diamonds: she had a flush. My heart relaxed because a straight hand was very good and considering the fact that she went all in, it was very reassuring.

Her opponent revealed his hand: a four of clubs and a jack of spades. The crowd cheered for the rich man because he had a full house, which trumps over a flush, and as the man grabbed the entire pot, I saw my plane ticket leave my very eyes.

I managed to recover with a straight face and I placed my hand on Candela's shoulder to comfort her. I knew how much she had lost, and it was a considerable amount, but this was all part of the game. Sometimes, luck isn't just on your side. I called out to Candela to tell her that we should go, but I got no response. I tried to move her shoulder, but she didn't budge. I moved in closer, and I could hear her murmur a bunch of mumbles. I motioned in front of her to see what was going on, and I was met with a face of complete distraught.

"Gotta get it back. Gotta win 'em back." Those were some of the mumbles Candela whispered in her lifeless state as if it was the only thing that her body could do. I had to get Candela out of the table, so I grabbed her shoulder and placed it around me, and we both left to find Spark.

"Blanche! I NEED to win them back!" Candela murmured straight to my face. I told her to keep it down before she starts making an even bigger scene than we were already in. It was at this point where I figured that she may have a gambling issue because all this zombie could think about was to gamble back her money.

Fortunately enough, an even louder event occurred. A loud chime and jingle boomed throughout the casino and the lights flashed in several different colours. The Armaldo Casino was celebrating someone winning at the slot machines. Out of my curiosity, I dragged Candela over to see who it was since we could search for Spark after we find out who won, but to my surprise, I saw Spark shouting and cheering as his slot machine was spilling out his winnings.

I could hear him scream and shout in joy and the smile he had on his face was too precious; I took out my phone and took a picture of it. Meanwhile, Candela suddenly came back to life and grabbed Spark by his shoulder and shaking him saying, "Must. Win. Them. Back! Give me some. GIVE. ME. SOME!" Spark was too happy to care so he said to take as much as she wanted, and Candela began to use her arms to grab a collection of chips to herself.

I sighed, but I don't want to ruin the moment. Before my eyes were an overjoyed Spark, a greedy Candela, and a whole lot of winnings. I resisted the urge to calm them both down since they were acting like children, but they were my friends; they were my winnings. I took a selfie (one of the few I've ever taken), and I placed this photo on my desk table to remind me of this wondrous moment.

I managed to control Candela before she could gamble any further and joined Spark to the front desk to cash in his chips. I later found out that Spark broke even, which left me speechless because he had a LOT of chips. Turns out he spent more than we agreed upon, but unlike Candela, he broke even. Apparently, he just kept exchanging and exchanging and continued playing. He shrugged and replied that he couldn't help himself probably because he didn't have anyone to help him resist.

We left the casino afterwards and Spark helped me with Zombie Candela as we dragged her far away from the nearest poker table. I gave him a sermon as to why we each should have some self-control because if we didn't, we'd end up like our crazed friend. He agreed, but I'm pretty sure that he'd fall short and commit the same mistake again if he had the chance. I just sighed, and wondered why even bother making a pact if we were just going to break it. It was at this point where we agreed that we don't go out gambling as often anymore. Perhaps once a year. Or twice. Depends on my mood.


End file.
